the Era of Badger
by Skyran
Summary: In the time between TNP and TPOT: a patrol swept away by twolegs. A mysterious plague sweeping through the Clans. And an era both thought and meant to be one of peace will erupt in a tide of blood. Reviews please! T for mild languageviolence.
1. Chapter 1

Badgerfur was a little worse for the wear. He had, of course, survived a rather vicious badger attack, been tricked by StarClan, and landed a place as enemy No. 1 with Rippedclaw. But he had seen nothing yet.

However, Badgerfur was not currently thinking about that. Or how lucky he was to still be on all four legs. No, he was thinking about how that damn wind had betrayed him. Stupid huh? Yeah.

He was trotting briskly along with the dawn patrol, as they followed the stream west of their camp, across the RiverClan border, away from their camp and the lake that all of the Clan's territories where set around.

The cool, crisp morning air slapped gently at his face, while his mind teemed with garbled angry thoughts directed at it. Stupid breeze had nearly cost both his and the beautiful Dappledleaf's lives.

"Badgerfur!" a voice snapped from the top of the patrol. Badgerfur looked up sheepishly. The patrol had stopped in a clearing of trees. Nearby, he heard the bubbling of a stream. They where getting closer to the RiverClan border and the Thunderpath.

"Yes, Leafheart?" Badgerfur asked meekly, looking up into the sharp gaze of the warrior leading the patrol. Leafheart had once been deputy, but during a battle with ShadowClan, where she had been defending their camp, she had been clawed over the steep ends of the disused quarry that ThunderClan's camp was located in, and onto the rocks below. She should have died, but had miraculously survived, with but a bad limp to show where her leg had been nearly crushed.

But while she hovered between life and death, Dappledleaf had become deputy, and Leafheart eventually resumed place as a warrior. And Badgerfur had developed a huge crush on Dappledleaf, even though she was as off-limits as any ShadowClan queen.

Leafheart's eyes hadn't lost their commanding stare, which she flashed now at Badgerfur.

"I was just saying, we need to make our way up the Thunderpath and stream. At the last gathering, Leopardstar threatened about taking back the stream. We need to make sure they haven't gotten any ideas."

"Right," mumbled Badgerfur. His pelt itched.

"Are you okay, Badgerfur?" asked Shadowheart, peering at him. The black tom looked concerned, as did his mate, Icestorm, who stood next to him, bright blue eyes worried.

"Yeah," Badgerfur meowed.

"I _told_ you you shouldn't go," fretted Icestorm. Her thin white tail twitched as it snaked around Shadowhearts, who nuzzled her, his dark black fur contrasting Icestorm's pure white coat greatly.

"If he said he was okay, he's okay," meowed Leafheart testily, piercing steel blue stare sweeping over the patrol. Leafheart's apprentice, Bluepaw, shuffled next to her as she watched her mentor snap at the other warriors.

She turned around, and with a flick of her tail, Leafheart led the patrol off again. Badgerfur walked in silence, trying to ignore Icestorm's frequent glances, and tried to mull things over in his mind.

His mind found Dappledleaf, and he imagined them together, maybe hunting, just the two of them. Without a monstrous badger this time. They'd go somewhere else, where they could just forget the world.

He could almost feel her hot breath, and the warm, sweet scent that seemed to follow the deputy wherever she went. He imagined himself drawing closer to her, and she not moving away, but extending towards him, wanting him . . . but no, that couldn't be.

_Dappledleaf's deputy_, he told himself sternly. _The more you think about it, the harder it will be. You can't have her. Just stop it._

Wanting to distract himself as he followed the patrol further, he cast his mind out of something else. This time it was Leafheart who it landed on.

Poor Leafheart. Badgerfur looked up at Leafheart's back, watching her limp sorely, plumed tail held high. They way she looked at them, talked to them, you'd think she was still deputy.

_But she should still be deputy_, Badgerfur knew. _Everyone knows it. And no one knows more than her._

There was a loud yowl from the bushes on their right. The patrol scattered, and out stepped two RiverClan warriors, and an apprentice.

Badgerfur noticed at once all three cast looked oddly ill. Their pelts, usually shiny from all the fish they ate, where dull, and their fur hung limply on their scrawny forms. But their eyes glittered, and the apprentice spat at the sight of the ThunderClan cats.

"Leafheart," sneered one of the warriors, who's pelt was dark grey. "Your still up and about, are you? And here I thought you where defeated by your own camp." He smiled smugly.

"Greytooth," meowed Leafheart calmly. "I would have thought that Blackclaw trained you better than that. I can only imagine what you are teaching this young scrap." She looked at the apprentice, who gazed back in either fear or hate, it was hard to tell.

"I can see you haven't taught him to hunt," she continued. "Maybe you need to brush up on your skills as well."

She was right. The RiverClan warriors _where_ skinny. That wasn't right, considering that it was the middle of newleaf.

Greytooth and the other warrior bristled.

"I hope you listened to what Leopardstar said at the Gathering," he snapped. "Because this river is ours and you know it."

"I hope you heard what Bramblestar said," retorted Leafheart. "We haven't caught anything in it but weeds with a small few exceptions, we just use it to torment you lot. Now get out of my sight."

With a snarl, the RiverClan warriors and apprentice slunk away back into the bulrushes. Leafheart turned to go, then noticed that Bluepaw was not next to her. The apprentice was standing stock still, very close to some dense brushes.

"What is it?" Leafheart asked impatiently.

"Bear," squeaked Bluepaw, and then crumpled in a heap on the ground as the long, lethal claws that had impaled her thrust back out of her chest and onto the ground.

—to be continued—


	2. Chapter 2

Badgerfur stood in shock. All other thoughts had been blown out of his head. His paws felt like lead, and there was a funny buzzing noise in his ears. Leafheart let out a sort of strangled cry, and stumbled backwards into Shadowheart, who jumped, fur on end and his eyes wild.

"Quiet!" hissed Badgerfur. "It's a bear! It could kill us all with one swipe of its paws, but they can't see well, so just stay _really still . . ." _

All of them held silently still. Badgerfur noticed that Leafheart's eyes kept flicking nervously towards the crumpled body of Bluepaw, who was oozing blood from the wound in her chest. He tried not to think about that and shut his eyes tight.

There was no breeze. Everything was absolutely still and quiet. The bear withdrew its paw. An odd snuffling was coming from the other side of the bushes. A small furry brown bear cub toddled out, sniffing around eagerly, batting at flowers and voiced excited cries.

The mother bear gave an anxious call and immediately poked her head through the bushes—and caught sight of the patrol. Another bear cub appeared beside her.

The mother bear's beady black eyes narrowed and giving a roar of fury, she charged.

"Run!" yowled Icestorm, and the ThunderClan cats bolted. They dashed through the trees, away from camp, lest the mother bear find the rest of the Clan.

The bear bellowed and lumbered behind the, crashing through the undergrowth.

"Everyone up a tree!" snarled Shadowheart, gasping for breath. He, Icestorm, and Badgerfur shot up into the bard of a tall oak, and deftly climbed up into the safety of the braches.

Leafheart leaped after them, and her front claws caught on the tree trunk, but was unable to get a firm hold with her bad leg, and hung from her claws, wildly seeking a hold.

The bear skidded up, and viciously ripped Leafheart from the tree, flung her across the clearing.

From a patch of clover, Leafheart struggled to get up again.

"Go!" she gasped her body trembling from the strain.

"What do we do?" whispered Icestorm from the sheltered branches of the oak. She had a torn claw and was bleeding. Her face had a pained scrunch to it.

"We have to help Leafheart!" Badgerfur meowed urgently. "If she dies, Jaggedclaw will become deputy, and take over the . . .," he trailed off, and Icestorm and Shadowheart peered quizzically at him.

"That doesn't matter!" meowed Shadowheart quickly. "We can't just let that bear kill Leafheart! We can run, and get the bear to chase us across the Thunderpath. Maybe a monster will hit it."

"But what if a monster hits _us_?" Icestorm snapped at her mate, her eyes wide with fear. "And what if it gets across? Then the bear will be loose—"

"—Yeah, on ShadowClan territory. Look, we've got to do it; it's the only way. Ready? One, two, three—!"

They jumped. Twisting in the air, Badgerfur managed to latch onto the bear's shoulders just before it got Leafheart. Badgerfur tried to jump off, so he could flee with the other and lure the bear, but his claws were snagged in its matted fur.

The bear gave a deafening roar, and with a mighty shake, flung Badgerfur off. Dazed, he shook his head blearily.

"Badgerfur!" It was Leafheart. He had landed about a foxlength away from her. He had never noticed it before, but she was very pretty, even when her eyes where wide and fearful, and she was shaking.

Badgerfur shook his head again. The fall must have addled him.

"Come on!" he screeched, leaping to his paws, while the bear stormed lividly around the clearing, roaring.

"I'm trying—my paw!" Face tight with pain, she held up her right front paw. The bones inside had clearly been snapped in two.

"We've got to go!" he caterwauled, and grabbing her by the scruff of the neck, half-dragged Leafheart after Icestorm and Shadowheart.

The bear was right behind them—they were almost to the Thunderpath! Monster zoomed past, their unnaturally shiny pelts catching the sunlight and flashing blinding glared at the cats as they sped past.

Without pausing, Icestorm and Shadowheart streaked across the Thunderpath, and shot up another tree on the other side.

Badgerfur, still half-supporting Leafheart ran after them, the bear right on their heels. He could feel its hot breath on his tail. Monsters were coming, faster than it seemed possible!

There was an earsplitting screech, and an even louder blaring sound, and Badgerfur pulled Leafheart clear just in time. The monster bowled into the bear, swerving crazily as the twoleg inside stomped on the breaks, and crashed into a tree on the ThunderClan side, sticking out half across the Thunderpath.

Two other came tearing up and smashed into each other trying to avoid collision with Badgerfur and Leafheart, and the other monster. There was the horrible tearing sound of metal screeching on metal, and one more monster went rolling through the air, and as part of its front erupted in a ball of flame, rammed right into the tiny tree Icestorm and Shadowheart where in.


	3. Chapter 3

Badgerfur crouched next to Leafheart halfway across the Thunderpath, unaware of his own pain and that of Leafheart's as chaos reigned around them.

He watched, as if in slow motion, the car flip through the air and with a tremendous crash, smash into the sapling that Icestorm and Shadowheart had taken refuge in.

Panic flooding him, he dragged Leafheart beside one of the monsters that had crashed on the side of the Thunderpath, and cowered there.

Beside him, he could hear Leafheart's rapid, shallow breathing coming in short, painful rasps.

Loud sirens began to wail, then there were several loud screams, and a new, skinny monster with a twoleg seated on top plowed into the car hiding Badgerfur and Leafheart.

The impact made them crash through the car's windshield, shattering glass. Leafheart lay unconscious on some material-covered seat in the front. Blood seeped from a wound in her head, and soaked the blue fabric red.

Badgerfur lay halfway on the hood, half inside, feeling the splinters of glass still attached to the monster digging into his body, leaving blood gauges.

He couldn't move—the pain was too great. Outside, there were shouts and yells from twolegs, and a blaring, unrelenting wail. There were screeches as ore monsters pulled up short, and twolegs jumped out, and began to sort out the mess.

A towering twoleg stepped up to the wrecked car Badgerfur lay across. He leaned over Badgerfur, then slowly looked down to peer at him, and caught sight of Leafheart as well.

"Someone call the WRC!" he shouted, making Badgerfur's ears ache. He didn't even bother to try and understand what the man was saying; he was fighting us to stay awake.

"They're already here!" another voice called. A new twoleg stepped out of the gathering cloud of darkness, a female. She had brought two of the small; metal-mesh dens the Elders had called cages with her.

She reached down with gloved hands, and gently slid Badgerfur into one of the cages. He tried to resist, but was too weak to even raise a claw. He lay on the soft material the twoleg had placed on the bottom of the cold cage, feeling his entire body scream in one great pain.

Badgerfur was dimly aware of the female doing the same to Leafheart, and then with a lurch, his cage was picked up, and carried over to the pack of a healthy monster, which had another twoleg sitting in it.

"Put them in the truck with the others," said one of the twolegs urgently, and the female set both his and Leafheart's cages down into the open back of the truck.

Blackness now surrounded Badgerfur, but he could faintly smell Leafheart's sweet scent, now nearly gone from the odor of blood, those of Shadowheart and Icestorm. Shadowheart and Icestorm? But they where dead, he had seen it.

It didn't matter now . . . he was sinking into the darkness, the rush of voices outside where extinguished


	4. Chapter 4

Badgerfur came to slowly. Blearily, he tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids where so heavy . . .

Was he dead? But no . . . he would be in StarClan, not lying on a soft surface, body still etched in a muted agony. If he where in StarClan, he would be surrounded by his warrior ancestors, hunting and running free, not feeling as though a tree had been dropped on top of him.

Curiously, Badgerfur opened his eyes, and stared in shock. He was lying on his side in a metal cage, about two foxlengths off the ground. Turning his head slightly, he saw that his was in a long white and shiny room, with tables and desks across from him, as well as an open door, from which he could see forest. The wall he was one was stacked high with cages.

He could smell and hear the cages' inhabitants. Many where cats, there where a few rabbits, smaller creatures like mice and bats, and even—Badgerfur's heart raced—a fox. He could hear the chatters of some birds along the row to his right. However, none of the creatures seemed prepared to eat him, so he relaxed slightly, and looked around his own cage.

It wasn't nearly as large as the warriors den at home, but if he had stood up, there would have been enough room for him. The bottom was padded in a wonderfully soft material, and he could smell fresh water in a metal trough at one end. Another small open container held—fresh meat.

Badgerfur was surprised. All the stories he had ever heard about kittypets had said that they were fed small round, tasteless pellets that looked like rabbit droppings. If he had been taken by twolegs, weren't they planning to turn him into a pet? Why give him the fresh meat?

He tried to move towards it, but a fierce pain in his back leg stopped him. Ignoring the ache in his neck, he looked around, and what he saw nearly made him pass out again. His right hind leg, the one that had been snapped by a badger moons ago, was cemented in a heavy white _thing_ that prevented him from bending it.

The white thing held it out strait, and was so heavy; he couldn't lift it off the ground sideways without risking dislocating his leg.

Bewildered, Badgerfur sniffed it. It smelled bland and dusty. But before he could ponder it, a voice called, "Hello, there!"

Frightened, Badgerfur looked up sharply. A friendly face stared down at him from the bottom of the cage above him. It was an older tom, maybe a little younger than some of the Elders. He was white, with black markings on his face and down his back, and looked a little like Badgerfur himself.

"Who—who are you?" Badgerfur asked, warily.

"The humans call me Patches, but," the tom dropped his voice. A sad sight escaped him. "I like to go by Swiftpaw. Just between me and some of my other friends." The tom drooped even more. "It reminds me of home."

Badgerfur's head spun. Swiftpaw—no, it couldn't be! Swiftpaw was a ThunderClan cat that had been killed by the vicious dog pack that had mangled Brightheart's face. The Clan had retrieved and buired his body!

"Swiftpaw?" Badgerfur gasped in amazement. "But, that's not possible! You where killed! Brightheart couldn't speak about it for moons. You were buired."

The tom's eyes grew wide.

"Brightpaw? She—she got away? The Clan is safe? Who are you?"

Badgerfur felt excitement welling up in his paws. This was impossible, but, wasn't him being alive just the same? And here he was.

"I'm Badgerfur, I'm from ThunderClan. Brightpaw—well, her name's Brightheart now—got away. She got real hurt, but Cinderpelt and Cloudtail helped her, and she became a warrior again. But that was before I was born. How did you get away? You where killed by dogs, Brightheart said so!"

"I thought I was dead too, trust me," meowed Swiftpaw eagerly. "But the humans found me and saved me. They brought me here, to the WRS. Cloudtail, really? You mean Cloudpaw, Firestar's nephew? How is the Clan, how's Firestar? What happened with the dog pack?"

Questions fired back and forth between them. Swiftpaw wanted to know everything, and Badgerfur couldn't blame him. If it were him, he would've grieved his displacement from the Clan every day of his life, and that is what Swiftpaw must have done.

"Yeah, Cloudtail became a warrior. The dog pack, well, it's a long story, and I wasn't there, I just know what the Elders told me." And Badgerfur relayed the story of how the dogs had been lured to the camp by Tigerstar, and how in a mad rush, Firestar and Bluestar had driven the dogs over the old gorge and to their deaths, and how Bluestar too, had lost her last life there as well.

When Swiftpaw heard of Bluestar's death, he let out a yowl of grief.

"I knew she'd be dead by now," he whispered. "It's been so long, and she was old. But still, the Clans will miss her greatly. And Tigerclaw! He-he tried to kill her!" Confusion and sadness gleamed in his eyes.

Badgerfur quickly told the rest of the story, how twolegs had destroyed the forest—Swiftpaw had gasped, and nearly exploded in rage—about the badger Midnight that had set four cats on a quest the the sun-drown place, about the mountains, and how the cats had found anew home by the lake.

"Wow," breathed Swiftpaw, and then he cast his eyes down again. "I missed a lot."

Badgerfur didn't know what to say to this, so he asked, "So, what's the WRC?"

Swiftpaw looked up. "It's the Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic. These humans—sorry, twolegs—rescue animals and take us here to help us. They have things Medicine Cats wouldn't believe! They saved me—me! And I had been attacked by dogs. They couldn't adopt me out after they healed me, so I've stayed here. It's not so bad. They know we're wild cats, and so they give us meat, and let us outside, and stuff." 

"But if ThunderClan buired a cat, who was it? He must've have looked exactly like you," Badgerfur meowed slowly, mulling this over."

"Well . . ." whispered Swiftpaw. His eyes where cats down, and he trembled slightly. "Goldenflower, my mother, she mated with a tom in RiverClan. I don't know who. I had a brother from her litter that lived there. Every so often, we'd sneak out, and meet one another. He was supposed to meet me in ThunderClan territory, but where the dogs where. We didn't know they where there. Once I found out, I tried every way to warn him, but nothing worked. I said I was going to go looking for the dogs so I could get to him. But only Brightheart had come with me. The dogs killed him, and hurt Brightheart and me. I had been staggering, away from the dogs' lair, and right near where the twolegs from the WRC were looking for the dogs. They took me. But how did you get here?"

"My patrol, well, our deputy, Leafheart's patrol got attacked by a bear. We got it to chase us across the Thunderpath, but a lot of monsters got into a wreck, and we where in the middle of it. Oh, Bramblestar's going to go ballistic when he finds out we've vanished," Badgerfur yowled painfully.

"Bramblestar?" meowed Swiftpaw quickly. "But what happened to Fireheart? I know Bluestar couldn't possibly . . . but Fireheart was deptuy."

"We . . . don't really know," admitted Badgerfur, "except that he's dead. StarClan told Leafpool, she's our Medicine Cat now. There was this huge battle with ShadowClan, and then a big twoleg stepped out with a metal stick, and there was a loud bang, and Firestar collapsed. He was bleeding like mad, and the twoleg laughed, and stormed through all the panicking cats, and took him away, along with some others."

Swiftpaw was quiet. Then he meowed softly, "It sounds like he and the others where shot by a hunter. But the WRC says its illegal to us Clan cats. They call us ferals, and say we're protected. Maybe they found Firestar, and brought him here! There are a lot of cats here that were once wild, but where too hurt to go back."

"Maybe . . .," sighed Badgerfur. "I guess—"

"Badgerfur, it that you?" a thin voice croaked to his right. Badgerfur twisted and looked around. From what he could see between the thin gaps in the cage bars, it was a white she-cat.

"Icestorm!" yowled Badgerfur happily. "I can't believe you're alive!"

"Me neither," agreed Icestorm. "Shadowheart's here too, he's below me, right over the floor. We just came round. Who's that cat?"

"It's Swiftpaw! Shadowheart, are you there?" called Badgerfur, feeling his heart swell. His Clanmates where alive after all!

"I'm here, Badgerfur," came a strained voice below to his right. "It's good to hear your voice. That's Swiftpaw, you say? Well, I've met someone too. Firestar, say hello."

"Fireheart!" gasped Swiftpaw. "He's been below me all this time? Fireheart, can you hear me?"

"Firestar!" meowed Icestorm and Badgerfur. "Firestar, are you okay? Firestar?"

There was no answer.


	5. Chapter 5

"Er, I don't think he can talk," came Shadowheart's awkward meow from the cages below. Badgerfur's heart plummeted as fast as the monsters had plowed into each other.

"W-what do you mean?" he stuttered. "Firestar's not dead, is he? Please don't tell me you're lying next to a dead corpse." Privately he though, _we have enough of those on our paws as it is._ Worried, he wondered where Leafheart was. And if the Clan had found Bluepaw yet.

"I don't know," was Shadowheart's miserable reply.

Bramblestar stared at the wall of brambles and nettles that surrounded the Camp, listening hard for the sound of the approaching patrol. Their pawsteps grew louder, and he looked eagerly up as the first cats began to arrive, but dropped his gaze sadly almost at once.

The patrol's heads and tails where down, the cats dejected as they scattered in the quarry and padded around aimlessly.

Squirrelflight left the lead of the patrol with Sandstorm, and the two she-cats made a beeline for Bramblestar. He looked up anxiously, but their looks said everything: the patrol had not been found.

Sandstorm spoke first. "There's no sign of them by WindClan," she meowed in a tired monotone. The old warrior's eyes where sad.

"Nothing at all?" Bramblestar meowed to Squirrelflight. She shook her head.

"Nothing there. But I took my patrol west by the ShadowClan border, and we found something interesting. The scents of some RiverClan cats, up by our border. Their scents where layered, but there was a dim whisk of blood and our cats. I think they passed by there, but I don't know what happened. We went further on, and the woods where charred right by the Thunderpath. Do you remember the smoke we scented yesterday? That's where it was coming from. There was a huge wreck with the monsters," meowed Squirrelflight very fast. Her piercing green eyes bore into her mate's.

"So you think the crash and fire has something to do with the patrol's disappearance?" meowed Bramblestar slowly.

"Of course," rasped Sandstorm. "I'm not surprised that twolegs had something to do with this. They've abducted us before you know." She spat on the sandy ground, anger burning in her eyes.

Squirrelflight was looking carefully at the ground and her eyes, avoiding her mother's furious gaze.

"Sandstorm, I think you need to eat something and take a nap. Go see Leafpool if you're aching again," she meowed softly.

"Don't tell me what I need to do, Squirrelflight!" snapped Sandstorm, fur raised. "Twolegs took you father, they destroyed the forest, and they are back now! If you want to pretend this isn't happening, fine, but Greystripe is a perfect reminder of what could happen if—"

"Sandstorm, eat these." The ginger and white tabby padded up softly, her eyes gentle. She set a few small black seeds wrapped carefully in a leaf in front of Sandstorm's paws. Sandstorm paused, then flashing Squirrelflight an angry look, lapped them off, and meandered back to her den.

"She can't keep doing this," meowed Leafpool worriedly, gazing back at her retreating mother. "She should be in the Elder's den with the Greystripe, Dustpelt, and the others."

"I know, but she keeps on fighting. Firestar's death destroyed her, and she won't listen to sense," replied Squirellflight, in a tone of desperation.

"I'll talk to her later," meowed Leafpool distractedly. "But I need to tell Bramblestar: StarClan's told me something."

Both cats looked up quickly to stare at Leafpool, who looked affronted.

"Well I am a medicine cat!" cried Leafpool, confused.

"No, no, it's okay, just tell us," meowed Bramblestar quickly, paws shuffling at the ground.

"Spottedleaf came to me, and told me this. 'Injured, will be all of the five, helped by twolegs if they are to survive. To them will be another two more, Cats known by the Clans from before. But alas, on the journey back home, with StarClan two of the seven will roam.'"

Squirrelflight and Bramblestar stared at Leafpool who looked affronted.

"I know, it rhymes, but that's not the point," she began, but Bramblestar interrupted her.

"Thanks, Leafpool. This is important. Let's see, can we go back to my den?"

The two sisters shrugged. "It's your den."

Bramblestar led the way back across the camp, and up the rough sand and rock walls into his den, a dim, small cave that was formed in the rock, and sheltered by some ivy. They brushed back, and settled inside.

It was clear that Bramblestar was running the prophecy over in his mind.

"Injured will be all of the five . . . helped by twolegs . . . two will roam with StarClan . . ." Bramblestar looked up, his eyes worried.

"Well, the beginning makes sense," meowed Squirrelflight practically. "Five cats. There where five in the patrol, counting Bluepaw. They will all be injured—that must have happened at the monster crash. To survive, they need to be helped by twolegs. There was no cat or twoleg there when we went today, so that must've happened to. And the prophecy says that they'll meet two cats that the Clan knew before."

"Barely and Ravenpaw?" suggested Leafpool. "Some cats from BloodClan"—they all shivered—"Purdy, cats from the Tribe—"

"—Firestar?" whispered Squirrelflight. They all looked at each other with wide eyes.

"We can't know anything for sure," meowed Bramblestar quickly. "Let's see . . . 'but alas, on the journey back home, with StarClan two of the seven will roam.'" They all fell silent.

"You know what this means?" gasped Leafpool.

"Yes, two of them will die."

For several moments, they stared at each other, wide-eyed. Then, there was a scuffling, and a grey apprentice appeared, panting, at the ivy-covered entrance to Bramblestar's den.

"What is it, Cinderpaw?" asked Bramblestar sharply.

"It's my mentor, Brightheart, Bramblestar, she needs Leafpool, _now_!" meowed Cinderpaw, her eyes wide and frightened. "She wasn't up all morning, and I went this afternoon to wake her up and ask if we can train, and she won't wake up!"

There was a shocked silence for a few moments.

"Show me," meowed Leafpool quickly, and rushed out of the den with Cinderpaw, leaving Bramblestar and Squirrelflight to stare helplessly at one anther.

_Please review!_


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